A total of 344 students started their senior year at Russellville High School with a complementary breakfast Monday, marking the first day of their last year of high school.

“We want to start the year off on the right foot, and that’s what the breakfast was all about,” said RHS principal Sammy Ussery, who began his first school day as principal on Monday. “We want to try to get the leaders of the school here together.”

The breakfast was followed by an assembly in the school’s auditorium, where Ussery introduced himself to his new student body.

Prior to Ussery’s speech, though, the seniors were greeted by Student Council President Wesley Prewitt and Senior Class President Olivia Taylor.

Taylor first laid out her expectations for the class — which would later be echoed by Prewitt — emphasizing the importance of a a senior class that takes leadership among the lower grades in the school.

“Now, we’re the oldest in the high school, and we’re leaders of the high school,” she said. “And it’s going to be awesome. Senior-tastic. That’s the word of the year.”

As council president, Prewitt said he hopes to help the school to be more organized and keep operations running as smoothly as possible.

“I think it’s going to be a great year,” he said. “I’m excited to see what all we can do with the senior class.”

Ussery said at the end of the day Monday that despite traffic congestion and construction on safe rooms for the school, the first day of class went smoothly.

About 1,200 sophomore, junior and senior students attended class at Russellville High School on Monday.

“It’s been one of the best first days I’ve been a part of,” Ussery said. “The number one reason it went so good is because the students were great today. To have this many students on campus and things go this orderly, it’s a tribute to the students and the staff.”

Ussery expressed wishes to publicly thank the Russellville school administration, Mark Neihouse of West Main Donuts and officials with the Arkansas Better Chance (ABC) program for helping with the breakfast.